Clean for the Queen

Clean for The Queen is a campaign led by Country Life magazine and supported by Keep Britain Tidy and Garfield Weston Foundation.It aims to clear up Britain in time for the Queen’s 90th birthday when it is officially celebrated in June 2016.

With litter having increased exponentially since the Queen’s accession in 1952 – a mammoth 500% since the 1960s1, the campaign intends to show gratitude to Her Majesty by tidying the streets of Britain. Clean for the Queen is calling on individuals, volunteer groups, local councils, businesses and schools up and down the country to get involved and take part.

Nearly 100 MPs have shown support for the official events taking place over the weekend 4th – 6th March, including mayor of London Boris Johnson and justice secretary Michael Gove. The nationwide cleaning effort has united political parties, with Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick also joining in the campaign.

Not everyone is so taken with the idea of cleaning up the country for the Queen, however, and users have taken to sharing their disagreement with the campaign on twitter using the hashtag #CleanForTheQueen.

If the reasons behind the campaign are contentious it cannot be suggested that the ambition to clear up the nation and raise awareness of littering is not a worthwhile one.